sideskraper

Work racing ahead at 2012 US GP site Fail.

Koenigsegg is developing a camless engine - report Pneumatic valve actuation has been used since the 80's in Formula 1. Hydraulic systems would not be appropriate at all. Piezo electric and electromagnetic systems are really the future though.

Webber sees 'many years' ahead on F1 grid Well, the driver selection issue is a complicated one. Unfortunately I don't have time to get into it this morning. Will post back later. Regarding Bianchi, the path for him depends on how he performs on Fridays. The FI drivers are the prime candidates to replace Schumacher at MB when he calls it in. Whether that's at the end of this season, or end of 2014. From there, with a lot of Friday driving under his belt, he would potentially step into a FI race seat. Two or three seasons there where he hypothetically performs out of his skin and a Ferrari race seat is a possibility. Ferrari are really targeting Kubica for 2013. With Hulkenberg now in the Mercedes stream (which could also land either of them at McLaren possibly due to FI's strong links there), Perez is the strongest candidate to fill Massa's seat. Ferrari look for warrior drivers and that means battle hardened. The restricted testing rules currently means that it is next to impossible to rack up enough mileage in a Formula 1 car to develop skills and experience required before lining up on the grid. They won't put someone into the seat who has only a couple of years race experience (with the obvious exception of seriously distinguishing performance). They will look for at least 3 seasons (more likely 4) under their belt. The last young driver they put in was Massa, who had 3 full seasons at Sauber, and one full season as a Ferrari test driver. In season testing was wide open in those days too, so drivers racked up many more miles than today. Regarding the Schumacher years, it wasn't just the car it was the whole team. Jean Todt, Ross Brawn, and Rory Byrne were a dream team that any team would kill to have today. At least as good, if not better than the current RBR team. Ross Brawn has proven himself to be one of the best Technical/Development directors out there today. He's simply been hamstrung in his role at Mercedes Benz.

New deal for Schumacher possible admits Zetsche Forget it.

Hamilton back in hot-seat as Sutil saga continues Backlash!

Analysis - 2012 pecking-order already emerging? No pecking order has emerged and won't until FP2 in just over 5 weeks.

Webber sees 'many years' ahead on F1 grid I was refering to Webber being replaced in 2013. Massa is a good chance to be replaced in 2013. Bianchi will be a good racer but Perez is already showing that he's a hell of a driver. Frequently Perez hauled the lowly Sauber into points and placing that far exceeded it's potential (to be fair, Kobayashi also drove out of his skin on more than one occasion). Experience counts a lot at a team like Ferrari, that's why they placed Perez at Sauber. It's also why Perez is the likeliest candidate for a Ferrari seat. Bianchi has essentially left the Ferrari stream for a shot with Force India, who have proven they know how to develop drivers. By Tryouts, do you mean how do they select from the drivers available on the market to fill a vacant seat? Or how do they select drivers to develop going into the future?

Webber sees 'many years' ahead on F1 grid They won't replace him in 2013. There is no other driver available that is better than him. 2014, after the STR kids have a couple of seasons under their belt, maybe. Bianchi seems to have broken step with Ferrari, it is more likely Perez would partner Alonso in 2013 than anyone else at this time.

Fisker's government loan blocked, Project Nina delayed The assumption that these car companies developing EV/HEV's are simply buying standard off the shelf products that haven't changed in a long time, stuffing them into a pretty body, and sitting back as the money rolls in, is simply wrong. The purchase of technology from another company in turn stimulates the development of the technologies that will trickle down to the everyday user. I have an interest in a battery company, we are developing technology for cells that are 4-6 years away from being in production. We deal directly with many large companies including a lot of car manufacturers. The work that goes in to integrating our basic product into theirs is substantial. It is not simply a case of buying our batteries, buying a motor, buying a controller. When we do bring our product to market, it won't initially be in $15k compact cars. The cost of manufacturing, and the cost of our R&D is just too prohibitive. However as manufacturing is improved, and our development costs are amortized the price will come down to the point that they will be a competitive option for integration to everyday high volume vehicles. Not just in high end or niche products.

Fisker's government loan blocked, Project Nina delayed Before you can run, you must be able to walk. The technology to build that sub $30k EV/HEV isn't going to materialise out of thin air. It takes generations of development to get to that point. Thank the early adopters who are willing to spend the money today for these vehicles for subsidising the development and stimulating the investment required to build that vehicle you desire in the future.